Nuclear plant proponents brief citizens on plans

Executives of Blue Castle Holdings conducted two public briefings in Price on the proposed nuclear power plant near Green River Thursday and Friday.

Highlights of the presentation included:
- The two-unit, 3,000 megawatt plant will increase Utah's electric generation by 50 percent by 2022.
- The site selection process concluded that the Green River area would be best because of low seismic risk, adequate water, nearness to I-70 and a railroad line and proximity to existing and planned high-voltage transmission lines.
- The plant will be state-of-the-art design, unlike the Fukushima complex in Japan that was a 40 year old plant built on a 50 year old design. It is expected that cooling water circulation - crucial to cooling the core -will rely on simple gravity rather than pumps.
- The water supply will come from unexercised rights of the Green River, which were already approved for power generation use by coal-fire plants that were never built.

Conducting the briefing were: Aaron J. Tilton, president and CEO; Chief strategic officer and former NRC Chairman Nils Diaz; Chief operating officer Thomas Retson; and Senior vice president for business development Reed Searle.